Aussie views on the monarchy....

[MarkCDodd]

Ancestry.com.au conducted a poll over the last few weeks to gauge our thoughts on the monarchy.

- 48% want a Republic. 52% want to stick with the King/Queen as head of state. The ACT was pro Republic at 63%. That is where all the politicians live.
- Over 80% want Prince William to ascend the throne with a staggering 90% in Tasmania and South Australia prefering him over Prince Charles.
- The biggest support for Prince Charles over Prince William was in the ACT. However, it was only 25%.

Any change to a republic has to be via a referendum.

I would guess a "Yes to republic" vote is decades away if Prince William is the next monarch.

The support for Prince Charles is a worry though.

If he was to become King I think the republic process would get a huge boost and happen a lot sooner.

Is he as unpopular in the UK?

[peterd]

i think a lot would prefer william but i dont think charles will stand aside rather have a king or queen then a president who will cost us a lot more and bring in very little revenue in return

[sparkstopper]

Nothing wrong with Charles, just because he speaks his mind.
and I agree with a lot of his views. Camilla has been great for him,
couldn't stand that Diana, paraded herself like a film star.
Let the succession carry on as it should.

[Lulu]

I went for a lunch at St James's Palace, being held by Charles, in the wake of the Foot & Mouth horror, my Husband had been a lifeline for farmers in our two counties, which is why we were invitied. We stood drinking wine and chatting with him. I always thought he was a bit of a twit. He is in fact charming, ordinary and far less stuck up than his Mum. I was told no way was I expected to curtsey. When I met his Mum, at a very small intimate cocktail party, I was told that if I didn't curtsey, she would cut me dead! Philip was delightful and such a rogue, what a twinkle he had in his eye as I was talking to him!!

I think Charles will make a very good King, he's far more in touch with reality than his Mother, whom I still admire but wish she hadn't become so formal as she got older.

[Rob]

It genuinely amazes me Lu the people you get to meet.You met Prince Charles in the wake of the foot and mouth epidemic but what was the cocktail party for when you met the Queen?

[Lulu]

Same reason Rob. The Queen and Prince Philip came to Herefordshire and they had lunch with the Lord Lieutenant in a large country house. We weren't invited into the lunch, that was only for about a dozen big-wigs but we were invited to the Pimms and nibbles in the reception Hall of the house, where the Royal couple were taken round for a chat with everyone.

It was quite funny, as I wasn't happy about being told women had to curtsey when The Queen spoke to them. Just as she was next to me, a woman on the other side of me passed out and had to be carried to a chair. So the Queen as was whisked away, up to the other end of the room. So I didn't actually get presented, although she was standing so close I could have put my hand on her shoulder. She's ever so tiny and it is really odd to see her so close, when she is usually an image on the telly. Of course Philip just carried on as if nothing had happened.

We don't get to go to such interesting things nowadays, as Hubby officially retired 7 years ago.

[Rob]

I bet you went to the toilet to practise curtseying.Tell the truth!!

[Lulu]

No I went behind a pillar!! To practise, not for a wee!

[SRD]

I think Charlie boy will make a pretty good monarch, not ashamed to speak his mind, more like his old man but not so ready with the gaffes, surprisingly in tune with the people, or at least that's what I've heard from anyone whose had dealings with him, and with a weight of public service already behind him. I think the colonies will be very pleasantly surprised by him, he has a lot of time for their ideas and aspirations. Camilla was born to the job, and look at the way she gets on with the Queen. The real shame is that they didn't marry earlier when they had the chance, but the politicans stuck their oar into that one, just as they did with Diana but in completely the opposite direction.

William is untried yet. He's started well and made a good choice in the Middleton girl but I think they need to do a lot more of the service required of a Prince of Wales before getting stuck into the main job. I think too many people, foreigners especially, associate him with the glamour that surrounded his mother without realising that the role requires so much more than just being a pretty figurehead who wears clothes well. That may have suited those that think the Monarchy is just some Brit version of Dallas but won't suit those who want a strong, independent, Head of State.

In the discussions I've had, and the comments I've heard in the media, it seems that most anti-monarchists don't have a clue either as to the role they fulfill or the cost to the nation. The only real argument in favour of a President seems to be a simple one of democratic choice but then the Monarchy don't actually rule, the government does. Sure they have unelected influence, but we don't insist on all the others who have influence on government (many without any responsibility other than the money in their own pockets) being elected so what's wrong with the influence that a group of people can bring who have not only had independent experience of various sets of government, can command almost unlimited advice from all sources and have the responsibility of public service bred into them?

[MarkCDodd]

England accepts the House Of Lords which is an institution and concept completly foreign to Australians.

Although the number of heriditary peers had declined and merit is supposed to be the main selection criteria, having an upper house of unelected souls being able to veto the wishes of the elected representatives is horrifying.

If the UK can accept that as being democratic then having a heriditary head of state should not be much of a worry.

At least our upper house is selected via "proportional voting" at the same time as the lower house is selected via the "preferential system".

So we really do have a government selected by the people.

That is why it has always been bit odd to have a Governor General as the representative of a heriditary monarch as our head of state.

Argument has always been we can replace the GG with an elected Head Of State with the same powers.

The 1999 referendum on this was lost as the elders were unconvinced of the benifits.

The Royal Family will have to win over the current generation or the momentum for a Republic in Australia will be unstopable.

[SRD]

I'm not saying I'm not in favour of electoral reform, but our Head of State has nothing to do with that, they are an independent, familial, figurehead that we can all get behind in support of our nation.

The House of Lords is mainly a government appointed House, and that includes the hereditaries, and they can't, in the long term, veto government policy, only hold it up whilst further thought might be called for.

I'd like to see a completely independent Second House of representatives of various large bodies and experts; religions, industry, unions, charities, political parties etc. etc. who can bring knowledgeable opinion to review Government policy and future laws and to make public opinions of the possible failings of the laws the government might make, in much the same way that the Select Committee system does at the moment but without the political infighting. As such they might not be elected but they would have a body of independent opinion to bring to bear on the more 'exuberant' aspects of Governmental law making. They could also rule on the legitimacy of the outrageous claims made by political parties in their efforts to get into power, a power the vast majority have abused in the past.

By the way, don't forget that the original meaning of Democracy was government by a group elected by the people to make decisions on their behalf and that Anarchy is a political system based on the individual votes of each member of the electorate, basically rule by referendum.